Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa Essay

Bulimia nervosa, also called bulimia is a possible life threating eating disorder. A person that suffers from bulimia may secretly binge their food. They may eat large amount of food and then purge their food to get rid of the additional calories that they’ve digested. Bulimia is categorized in two ways, purging bulimia and non-purging bulimia. Purging bulimia is when a person regularly self-induces vomiting after eating. Non-purging bulimia is when an individual may use other methods to try to prevent weight gain, such as fasting, extreme dieting, or overly exercising.

Bulimia nervosa is a second eating disorder that needs attention drawn to it. Bulimia was pretty much unknown before the mid 1970’s (Dippel, N. & Becknal, K., 1987). Bulimia consists of binging and purging (eating as much as possible and then throwing it up). In a study that was conducted it was found that after bulimics had attempted several diets without success, they then became aware of vomiting or laxatives as a means to weight loss (Herzog, 1982). The symptoms of bulimia heave to do with preoccupations with food, weight, body image, and ridding themselves of ingested food (Dippel, N. & Becknal, K., 1987). Most people throw up because they feel guilty for consuming all the foods they know they shouldn’t have. They vomit not only to get rid of the food but to get rid of any unwanted feelings and emotions. Most patients begin purging approximately 1 year after the binge eating has started. As scary as the facts may sound, what is even scarier is the affects

According to the Mayo Clinic (2016), eating disorders are “conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life.” One such eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Not to be confused with anorexia, which is simply a general loss of appetite that can be attributed to many medical ailments, anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder and mental illness (Nordqvist, 2015). Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect about .9% of women and .3% of men in their lifetime (“Eating Disorder Statistics & Research,” n.d.). In general, the disorder is commonly characterized by a distorted body image or self-concept, critically low weight (with respect to the patient’s height and age), and an irrational fear of becoming fat or an intense desire to be thin. There are two subtypes to this eating disorder: restrictive and binge/purge. In the restrictive type, the individual limits caloric intake and may compulsively over-exercise. In the binge/purge type, the individual consumes a considerable amount of food in a short period of time (binging) and then deliberately vomits (purging), takes laxatives, or fasts intensely in order to compensate for the food eaten (“General Information: Anorexia Nervosa,” n.d.). In either case, anorexia nervosa is undoubtedly a dangerous and alarming illness.

Like anorexia nervosa people with bulimia nervosa fear gaining weight, desperately want to lose weight and are unhappy with their body. People with bulimia nervosa tend to be a normal weight or even under weight, which makes bulimia nervosa hard to detect. There are, however, warning signs of bulimia nervosa that include weights fluctuations, over-exercise, sneaking of food, unhealthy skin hair and nails (Self Image media Influences). If left untreated, bulimia nervosa can lead to serious and even life-threatening problems, such as depression, anxiety disorders, heart damage, kidney damage, injury to all parts of the digestive system, and severe dental damage (About Eating Disorders). People with bulimia nervosa can develop dangerous behaviors such as alcohol and/or drug abuse, sexual longing, cutting or self-mutilation, and kleptomania, which is the urge to steal even if you have no need for it.

There are multiple types of eating disorders besides Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, such as binge eating disorder, purging disorder, and night eating syndrome. Atypical Anorexia nervosa as is it most commonly known is having a weight that is extremely below the recommended weight. As a result, many of the people who are classified under this eating disorder starve themselves, so that their body can become thin. In some situations, they starve themselves so much that it can at times become fatal. According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, approximately 1 % of the adolescent girls will develop this eating disorder and about 20 % of the people struggling with this eating disorder will die prematurely from complications such as, heart problems or suicide (Miller, 2013, para 2). Bulimia Nervosa occurs when the person has an insanity for overeating too much in short periods and this is then followed by binge eating or purging. The main cause for Bulimia is when the patient has a distorted image of themselves and they see something different from what they really look like. Bulimia Nervosa can be categorized as overeating, fasting, or purging. According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, they say that 3 % of young women will develop Bulimia nervosa. The source also says that about 50 % of the people who had Anorexia will most likly develop Bulimia or Bulimic patterns later on in their life (Miller,

Bulimia nervosa is a condition where a person is so preoccupied with their body weight and physical appearance that they develop an unhealthy habit of binge eating, and then use extreme methods of to counteract the effects. (Bacaltchuk & Hay, 2001). The most common method of counteraction is purging by self-forced vomiting, however, other methods are also used such as abusing laxatives, emetics, and diuretics. While anyone can suffer from bulimia, about 95% of people suffering from it are female, and most of them are white from the middle and upper classes (Yager, 1991). Bulimia is a dangerous and sometimes fatal issue

Bulimia nervosa, another very complex eating disorder, is wildly different from its sister disorder Anorexia Nervosa. Very unlike Anorexia, Bulimia involves eating an largely abnormal amount of food in very short surges of time. Then to avoid gaining weight individuals purge what was recently consumed, these very often include binging and purging episodes. There are also two different types of Bulimia: purging and non purging. Purging Bulimia is when one regularly engages in self induced vomiting or abuse of laxatives after a long period of bingeing. The second type of Bulimia is the non purging type. In this form of Bulimia one will use decoy methods of bingeing such as excessive exercising or fasting. Risks of Bulimia are: broken vessels,

Anorexia has many negative effects as well. According to the University of Maryland Medical Centers article Eating Disorders, “Anorexia nervosa can increase the risk for serious health problems such as: hormonal changes including reproductive, thyroid, stress, and growth hormones, heart problems such as abnormal heart rhythm, electrolyte imbalance, fertility problems, bone density loss, anemia, and neurological problems.” Anorexia can severely affect a person internally. The continuous lack of nutrients can leave an anorexic person extremely frail. The heart in particular can grow so weak, that heart failure occurs. Eating disorders can lead too permanent health damages can stay with a person for the rest of their life.

Bulimia nervosa is a life-threatening eating disorder, bulimia is when an individual purposely vomits to undo or compensate to make up for what he or she consumed. According to the article, “Why do young adults develop eating disorders,” the true reason to bulimia nervosa has not been found, but many factors of the cause have been found by researchers. These factors include: genetics, biochemistry, psychological, society and environmental surroundings. Many individuals who have bulimia nervosa use unhealthy behaviors and food to manage emotions or stressful situations. While these behaviors may work in short term, they end up making the individual emotionally and physically worse in long term.

According to the American Psychiatric Association (2013) bulimia nervosa is when a person has repeatedly binged when eating. During the binge phase, the person will have very little control over their actions and consume large amounts of food in a short period of time. Typically a person battling with bulimia will exhibit inappropriate behaviors to refrain from gaining weight by exercising excessively, using laxatives, vomiting, taking medications, diuretics, and fasting. It is required that the person continue these behaviors for at least once a week for three months, and there is a major

This eating disorder causes extreme weight loss, malnutrition (due to lack of food), Depression and self-hatred. It also includes Headaches; bloodshot eyes, fatigue, obsession with body weight and appearance. Long term effects of Bulimia are: tooth enamel breakage due to constant contact with stomach acids when vomiting. Stomach ulcers (which are open sores with in the stomach) dental cavity’s, constant dehydration, and irregular heartbeat (which can lead to heart attacks).Also higher chances of suicidal behaviors and feelings.

Symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa include eating large amount of good before inducing vomiting. There are two types of this disorder: purging and non-purging. Purging include going to bathroom and throwing up after meals. They binge and purge. Non-purgers don’t throw up, instead, they exercise at abnormal rates and using laxatives regularly. Both of them often fast for the next day or two after binging. Their weights go up and down. They are mostly at normal weight or overweight making it harder for people to detect their sickness. People with Bulimia usually have bad breath, discolored teeth from throwing up, puffy face, and swollen fingers. They are at risk of having stomach

     Bulimia Nervosa [also known as Bulimia] is a very serious and dangerous eating disorder. The disorder can be describe as bingeing and then followed by purging or a person who eats a large amount of food in short periods of time and then vomits after eating to prevent on gaining the weight cause by the food. There is different ways of going about ways to prevent the weight gain, making oneself throw up, taking pills, or laxatives which will increase how fast the food will move through your body, exercising excessively, eating a little amount or not at all, or taking other pills to pass urine This disorder is mostly between the ages of 15 and 35, even if they have no specific

Bulimia nervosa patients- even those of normal weight- can severly damage their bodies by frequet binge eating and purging. In rare instances, binge eating causes the stomach to rupture; purging may result in heart failure due to loss of vital minerals, such

An eating disorder when a person eat large amounts of foods followed by a desire to get rid of the food by vomiting ,use of laxatives and excessive exercise(“What is Bulimia”,2015)